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John Prater (SCPO USN Retired)-Family
to remember
Prater, Phillip T., Capt.

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Contact Info

Home TownLouisville

Last AddressLouisvile, Kentucky

Date of PassingMay 09, 2006

Location of IntermentNot Specified

Wall/Plot CoordinatesNot Specified

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Additional Information

Last Known ActivityPhillip T. Prater, 51, of Louisville, KY passed away Tuesday, May 9, 2006. He was an Air Force Veteran, having served as a JAG officer, attorney at law with his own private practice, a member of St. Matthews Episcopal Church, Louisville Bar Association and Kentucky Bar Association. He was a loving husband, father and son. Survivors include his wife, Susan K. Brokenshire-Prater; his children Lindsay and Ryan Prater; his parents Vincent and Geneva Prater; his mother and father-in-law Shirley and Jim Brokenshire; he is also survived by his mentor, Uncle Fred Hatmaker, attorney at law. Funeral services were held Saturday, May 13, 2006 at St. Matthew Episcopal Church, 330 N. Hubbards Lane, with interment in the family cemetery. The family received visitors Friday at the Pearson-Ratterman Funeral Home, 12900 Shelbyville Rd. in Middletown.

Other Comments:

In Memorial to My Cousin Phil

I took the long drive home to the foothills one Memorial Day weekend, something that I don’t do quite often enough. Driving along the now paved winding road, I could almost taste the dust that no longer boiled up behind the rear tires of my old pick-up. The creek where I used to fish and swim seemed so small and muddy, it was nearly dried up. When I got to the old home place, the long swinging bridge was in disrepair and the low bridge was washed out by earlier spring rains. So, my old pick-up and I forged the shallow creek to the meadow on the other side.

Walking through the cemetery, I talked with Dad, my Grandparents and Uncles. I placed fresh flowers at each marker, pulled some weeds and dropped a few tears as I knelt down. Deciding to sit for a while and wait on my brothers and sisters to meet me as we had planned, I hunkered down on the creek bank. Looking across the way at where the House and Old Country Store used to stand I thought about the Cherry Tree that blossomed each year. It had stood at the bottom of the hill. The entire place seemed so small and barren now. Closing my eyes I settled back in the tall grass for a moment to enjoy the quite solitude. I felt safe here.

Gently, I was awakened by the sound of laughter and splashing in the creek. I knew it was my cousin Phil and I. We were there in the clear cool water. My eyes slowly opened as I heard another familiar voice calling my name. Gazing through the mist that covered my eyes, a figure began to take shape standing on the front porch of the Old Country Store. It was Grand-pa. He was waiving to us and shouting to come on out of the creek. Wiping the mist from my eyes, I could see the old gas pumps and the path that led from the store up the hill to the house. There was the house just as it had been and the Cherry Tree in full bloom, nearly blocking my view of the front porch. Squinting, I could barely make out the outline of my grand-ma peering through the front window. She was watching for my dad in his big coal truck to come rumbling down the dirt road.

I watched as two young boys climbed up the creek bank to the dusty road and dart across to the front of the store. Running into the store they emerged a moment later each holding an ice cold RC Cola and a bag of salted peanuts. Grand-pa was the best. They sat there on the storefront pouring the peanuts into the cola bottles. I could hear them bragging that one could skip a rock further than the other. I smiled, remembering that I had been hit in the cheek by a skipping rock. It had been my fault. I didn't duck fast enough.

Then I heard it; the deep rattling sound of the Mack truck as the gears were down shifted. The big, white, Mack with thirty tons of coal came to a stop in front of the two boys. Grand-ma came out onto the front porch of the house and waived. Grand-pa stepped out of the store saying and kind’a asking, “Last load today?” My dad just nodded my signal to climb up into the cab beside him, but not before protesting, under my breath of course…

The sound of the horn brought me straight to my feet, now wide-awake. Everybody was there on the opposite side of the creek, laughing at how quickly I had jumped to my feet, from an apparent dead sleep. If only they knew what a wonderful dream I had just had, I thought to myself as I waived back.